Selected Secular Records

About Us

Without the original contribution of an elderly American, researching her early Anglo-Jewish roots, and the boundless enthusiasm and sheer hard work of Frank Gent, this new project would not exist.

The American researcher, known to some by name, but firmly set on remaining anonymous, "Bequeathed" her original and, at the time, unique transcripts of early Anglo Jewish community records, with the express wish that they be published as widely and cheaply as possible. And, when other doors remained firmly shut, Frank rolled up his sleeves and the first set of transcriptions were published. in book format in 2000 and revised and extended in 2001. [Some copies of the book Great Synagogue Marriage Registers 1791 - 1850 are still available to purchase. please use the Contact Us form to request further details.]

Within a few years, the rapid rise of interest in Genealogy, coupled to the growth of the Internet opened opportunities to place this kind of data on the Web and for some years many of the records that form part of this new database were published on the B-J website.

A settled and distinct home for the databases had always seemed desirable and the growth and success of the CemeteryScribes.com website gave us the impetus to adapt the material to a searchable database.

Visitors to this site should be aware that we are not a Genealogy or Family tree website and the database is not open to additions or contributions.

Only a limited number of Pre-civil registration records for Jewish communities in England have survived. Those that remain may require written permission to gain access. And some may be so delicate or severely damaged, as to render public access or digitalization extremely difficult. In many cases, whole ledgers may be written in cursive Hebrew, with no addresses, English dates or Family Names to aid identification. The bulk of the records contained in this database date between 1791 and 1860, with some either side of those dates and with none beyond 1865.